I eat bacon like a BOSS. Bacon is something I make so that I can eat it while I am cooking something else. And yes, a package of bacon is ONE serving. A pound of bacon has 200 grams of fat but you normally get 12 ounces per package, so you do the math. And if you have switched to happy bacon like I have you will get a mere 8-10 oz, which to me is a pretty good appetizer per fat ratio. I mean I do drink green smoothies for breakfast and almost always have a salad for lunch and I can rationalize anything. Bacon is so delicious I have never felt guilty eating it, until recently. UNTIL I learned about factory farming. I threw in a viewing of Babe for good measure and now I can hardly stomach going down the bacon aisle.
I guess I have known this all along (but chose to put it out of my pretty little head as the taste of swine is divine) but the clincher for me was watching This American Life, the video series. One
episode was dedicated to documenting pigs and genetic science. Before entering "the barn" the film
crew had to pretty much ensure that their whole being was sterile. They wore masks, sterile outfits (with matching shoes), and had to sterilize their cameras. If even one pig gets an outside germ it could kill them ALL because they are so pumped with antibiotics and steroids they no longer have immune systems. These sweet creatures have never seen the sun or felt grass on their feet. They aren't even able to turn around in their pen if that is what you want to call it. Convicted
murderers have better quarters. I could share more but it ain't a pretty picture. Watch the episode and tell me you haven't changed.
Bacon, up until this point, has been deemed my lover and now I have found out the truth. Like many past lovers, once you know the truth, there is no going back. (There has to be a way we can work it out!) I don't want to completely lose my long time companion even if our relationship is no longer
what it used to be.
Swine Wisdom: If you are going to indulge, know where your bacon came from. You have brought home the bacon and it doesn't come from Hoggett's pastoral farm setting. (Imagine Babe singing
now.) The bacon my grandmother ate and the bacon I eat are not the same by a long shot.
My bacon lover and I don't see as much of each other as we used to but when we do get together, it is beautiful. It is free from hormones, antibiotics and I am hoping, was once happy. I admit my consumption has decreased significantly. I have been caught sneaking around with some other smokey goodness: eggplant bacon. Yes, you heard me right. You can make a pretty good veggie version of bacon. No, it is not the same, but still pretty darn tasty.
Matthew Kenney's recipe is the best I have tried. The only problem is that if you are like me, when you want your bacon you want it NOW. You need to think ahead for this as it requires a day or two of dehydrating. This brings the loop full circle as I have eaten real bacon while I was making my eggplant bacon. You can always slice the bacon long ways to make it look more swine like.
Bon Appetit!
I just went in on a pig share from a local organic farmer......I had given up eating bacon for the longest time and now and back biting the best bacon and loving my reunion!
ReplyDeleteAwesome. Glad you found a happy compromise.
DeleteI think it's important for all us meat eaters to really pay attention to where our meat is coming from. I have been contemplating a lot lately about taking meat out of my life or only indulge occasionally with a cruelty free - organic choice. I do love me some bacon though!
ReplyDeleteMichelle
www.nolimitshw.com
Amazing how the guilt dissipates when you know the source.
DeleteThis is a difficult topic for me, I'm a vegan coach. While my primary driver for eliminating meat was for health reasons, over the years compassion has moved up to a tie for first place. (Environment is close second). I believe in the energetics of everything around us. I also believe that we create our reality. So if completely eliminating meat products makes you feel good, then do it. If buying meat products only from farms that treat the animals kindly, then do that. We all have to do what's right for us and for me whether they are mistreated along the way or killed at the end, I cannot eat it. I don't even want it anymore truth be told. It's been a gradual progression for me as I stated, somewhat unexpected so I don't judge myself or others for choices made to get to the ultimate goal of feeling good about the life we live.
ReplyDeleteFor me it encompasses so much. I am not ready to be a vegetarian but have cut back on my consumption considerably. I am a huge animal lover so the way they are treated speaks volumes to me.
DeletePiggybacking on Tracey's comment, I originally gave up pork for health reasons as I was on a mission to calm internal inflammation. (Pork is high in pro-inflammatory Omega-6 fatty acids.) But then I began to learn more about the energetics of food and even though we do our best to source our meat responsibly (and locally whenever possible), I couldn't bring myself to eat pork because I developed this theory... Because pigs are such smart and sensitive animals, whether they are humanely raised or not, they experience a lot of fear when they are slaughtered. I think that fear gets trapped in their cells and gets absorbed in our bodies when we ingest the meat.
ReplyDeleteSo, for me that means humanely raised turkey bacon or eggplant "fakon" -- tho eggplant is inflammatory as well so we keep it to a minimum. The liquid smoke makes all the difference in that mock bacon recipe, no?
Ignorance IS bliss. Cause when you start to taste the fear...that is a buzz kill. Didn't know about eggplant being inflammatory. Thanks. Will have to look into that.
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